Accidentally, I Swear
by madwriter223
Summary: Accidents and mishaps can happen on every mission. This one's a doozy, though. ANGST, HURT/COMFORT, mention of BLOOD [Or what if Rush got left behind on a planet. Again]


**Accidentally, I Swear**

Rush made sure to check the sample every several steps, making certain not to jostle it. They needed a complete flower for tests, and if it sprayed its contents it'd be useless, and he'd have to go back for another one. Considering it took an hour to get to the field in the first place, he really wanted to avoid that.

He finally caught sight of the Gate and he quickened his steps, eager to get the plant under a microscope The stuff that had sprayed Chloe was probably nothing more than spores, but it wouldn't hurt to make extra sure. She should be fine in quarantine for now.

Rush rounded the Gate to get to the front ramp and stopped. Where were the guards? Young always posted at least one soldier to guard the Gate, there was always someone here. Maybe they hid, like on that desert planet with Simeon.

"Hello?" he called. "Corporal Anderson?" he was pretty sure that was the usual guard's name. "Eli?" Nothing. "Scott? Greer!" No one was answering. He grabbed his communicator, and toggled the switch. "Destiny, respond. Destiny, this is Rush, open the Gate." No reply. Not even static. "Destiny, respond." Nothing.

He placed the flower down carefully and sprinted off to the main area they had been picking fruit in. But it was deserted, half the bushes and trees picked clean.

He could yell. He could try calling out to anybody at the top of his lungs, hoping for a bloody miracle. But shock was already setting in, and his years welled up with disbelieving tears.

They left him. Again. He had thought it was better. Young and him hadn't been fighting lately, they were on friendly goddamn terms, Rush thought. Morale was good. Even the science team were getting better at dealing with Destiny's little problems and glitches.

Is that why? Because they got better? Because they had Eli and Chloe so Rush was obsolete now?

His knees bent suddenly and he dropped to the ground. He stared at his shaking fingers and tried to concentrate on his breathing.

He was alone here.

Chloe woke up and winced, covering her eyes with a shaking hand. The infirmary lights felt too bright and it just made her more aware of the throbbing pain in her temples. At least she didn't feel like her insides were turning to liquid anymore, so yey, progress.

Something blocked out the blinding lights and she carefully opened her eyes. Matt was leaning over her and she smiled. "Hi." She said, voice quiet and raspy.

"How're you feeling?" Matt asked, sitting down next to her, careful to keep shielding her from the lights.

"Better." Chloe rasped, her throat aching and dry. "Water?"

"Sure." Matt gave her a cup with a straw and she gratefully took a few sips. Even that bit of liquid made her stomach roll unpleasantly, and she leaned back with a soft groan. She lay quietly for a few minutes, concentrating on her breathing. Matt put two fingers of each hand onto her temples and started massaging them gently.

She smiled gratefully at him. "Are we in FTL?" she asked.

"Yeah, but you should rest. Don't think about all that stuff."

Chloe knew that, she was feeling exhausted just from blinking. She still needed to know one more thing. "Did Rush get back okay?"

"He came back with you, remember?"

"He went back out to get that plant. He wanted a complete specimen in case TJ needed to run some more tests for a cure." She frowned slightly at Matt's confused look. "He came back, right?"

"Of course." Matt smiled reassuringly. "I probably wasn't there when he did."

Chloe bit her lip worriedly. "Could you check?"

"Don't worry." Matt kissed her forehead and smoothed down her hair. "I'll find him and bring him here so you can see for yourself. But sleep for now, okay? TJ said you need a lot of rest."

"Okay." She shifted slightly, getting more comfortable. "I think Volker was at the consoles when we came back." She added helpfully.

"I'll start with him then." Matt kissed her again and started petting her head. He sat next to her until she drifted off.

"Yeah, he did. He brought Chloe in on the Kino sled, told TJ that she had an allergic reaction then went back out to get a sample of the thing." Volker confirmed Chloe's version, and Scott placed his hands on his hips.

"Fine, but did he come back before the scouting party or with them?"

"I don't know, I got called away. Brody took over for me, you should check with him."

"Roger that."

"Rush? He definitely didn't come back alone, so he probably came back with the others."

"But you're not sure."

"There were at least fifteen people picking fruit down there and they all came back together." Brody said defensively. "Plus they needed help with the crates of food, I didn't really pay attention."

"It's fine, I'm sure he's just holed up somewhere."

"No, he didn't pick fruit with us. He went somewhere with Chloe to explore. I heard there was an accident?"

"Yeah, Chloe had an allergic reaction, but she's better now. Did Rush join you later on?"

"Nope. They went off and that was that."

A pause. "So he didn't come back with you."

"Definitely not with us."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

A nod. "Quite positive, I did a head-count before we left. Sixteen pickers went and sixteen came back." A frown. "Why? Is Rush missing?"

"...Nah. He's probably just working somewhere." Scott gave a reassuring smile that felt forced even to him.

He had a really bad feeling about this.

"Ron! Vanessa! Wait up!" Matt jogged down the corridor, waving urgently.

The two stopped, thankfully, both giving him confused looks. "Matt, what's wrong?" Vanessa asked.

"Is it Chloe?" Ron crossed his arms worriedly.

"No, it's Rush." Matt tugged them to the side, lowering his voice. "Chloe said he went back to the planet after he left her with TJ, to get a sample or something. No one remembers him coming back onto the _Destiny_, and I _can't find him anywhere_."

"You think what, he got left behind?" Ron snorted disbelievingly.

"I really don't want to reach that conclusion, so you guys have to help me look for him. We need to go through the entire ship until we find him."

"It'll take a long time with only three of us." Vanessa pointed out. "Why don't we get more people to help?"

Matt bit his lip. "The more people know, the higher possibility that Young will find out. And I really don't want Young to find out."

"I'm sure Rush is just holed up somewhere, working himself into exhaustion." Vanessa patted his shoulder. "It's not uncommon for him to ignore his radio."

"Yeah, we'll find him. And I'll get Riley and Eli to help, those Kinos of theirs can cover more ground."

"Okay, that's a plan."

Five hours later Matt felt like he was going to puke.

"Matt, you need to calm down." Ron said quietly, rubbing his back. "There's still the chance that Rush just found a new area no one else knows about and is in there. Remember his maths corridor, he kept hiding in there for weeks without anyone knowing."

"And this should definitely work." Eli said, adjusting the program. "I've used it already and it worked each time."

Matt looked up at him incredulously. "You used the ship-wide DNA scanner already?"

"When?" Ron demanded.

"To find people. Me, Chloe, Riley, others.." Eli shrugged. "We were testing it."

"Okay, and you're sure this is 100% accurate?"

"It's always been so far." Eli put in some adjustments. "We put in a sample of DNA, the scanner takes about ten minutes to scan the entire ship, but the results are usually down to individual rooms. We'll find him for sure. Don't worry Matt."

Vanessa walked onto the bridge. "I found three hairs on the bed in Rush's room." She said, holding them up between two fingers. "Is that enough?"

"Even one will do the trick." Eli said, pointing at the scanner plate. "Just put it on there and pull down the lid." She did so, laying the extra hairs to the side. "Okay, the scanner is computing the DNA. That'll take a few minutes. Then it'll give a ping and start scanning."

"Will it give a ping when it's done?" Ron asked sarcastically.

"Nah, it's more of a ting than a ping." Eli said thoughtfully.

"Maybe even a tink, it's hard to say." Riley added.

"It's definitely not a tink." Eli argued, turning to Riley.

"It's not that much of a ting either." Riley countered stubbornly.

"Forget I asked." Ron grumbled, sitting down next to Matt.

The scanner made a so far undefined noise (Eli and Riley argued about it the whole time). Matt jumped to the scanner console, but couldn't make head or tail of the results. "Eli, I can't read this."

"Calm down and let me look." Eli tugged him to the side, and read through the results.

Ron stood up and stretched his back. "So, let's hear it. Where's the illustrious Doctor Rush hiding this time?"

Eli started pushing buttons and clicking switches on the console, not looking up from the readings.

"Eli, come on. The suspense is killing us." Vanessa called.

Eli finally looked at them, face pale and eyes wide open. "It says he's not here." he said, voice shaking.

Matt paled. "Please tell me you're joking."

"Let's use another hair and do it again." Riley said, already pulling the scanner plate open. "Maybe it was a glitch or the hair was old."

"I'll go look for more." Vanessa said, and both Matt and Ron went with her to help search.

In the end, they found a total of eleven hairs. Each one was used for a separate scan. Each result was the same.

Rush wasn't on the Destiny. They had left Rush on that planet.

Scott, who had been responsible for that particular mission, was screwed.

"Colonel Young, sir?" Matt asked, walking briskly into the observation deck, Vanessa and Greer close behind him. Young was sitting by a chess set, looking out the large windows with a stormy expression.

"Scott, what is it?" He asked, turning to face them.

Matt swallowed thickly. "I have an urgent situation to report."

"Is it Chloe?"

"No, sir. Her condition is stable."

"Well then report."

Matt opened his mouth and nothing came out. He tried again, but he just couldn't get the words out of his throat.

Young frowned. " Lieutenant Scott, I can see the report is giving you difficulties. However I have an appointment with Rush, one for which he is very late for, so you'll understand that I'm feeling a bit impatient. Stop pussyfooting around and tell me this urgent report. Now."

Matt's lips thinned nervously and Vanessa stepped in to help him out. "The reason Dr. Rush is late for your appointment is because he isn't on the _Destiny._"

"What." Young demanded in a clipped tone, expression stony.

"I think we might have left him on that planet. Accidentally." Scott explained, voice slow and hesitant. "He went back for a sample, but no one noticed he hadn't come back."

Young stared at him with a darkening expression.

"Chloe's working on turning the _Destiny_ around to go get him, but-" He swallowed awkwardly. "It'll be at least another twelve hours before we're back in range."

"He's gonna be pissed off as fuck." Greer added helpfully.

Young agreed wholeheartedly. "Tell me everything you know."

The event horizon burst forward with a loud noise, and Young gave the go-ahead signal, crossing quickly to the planet. The Gate site was empty – no Rush nor any sign in which direction he might've gone. The only sign he had been here was the sample of that plant, packed neatly in a secure container, abandoned on the ground.

"He definitely was here, then." Matt muttered, stepping closer and nudging the container with his rifle. "What do we do now?"

Young stepped down the ramp, and turned around to face his troops. "Listen up! There will be five teams. One three-person team for each direction – north, south, east, west – you will move swiftly and carefully. We don't know if there are any dangerous animals on this planet. Team five will guard the Gate and operate the four Kinos. The Kinos will cover the other direction – south-east, south-west, north-east and north-west. Team leaders will radio in every fifteen minutes. If you find Doctor Rush, don't touch him unless absolutely necessary or unless he initiates contact. We don't know what kind of mental state he's nor whether or not he's been contaminated with anything planet-side. Remember that at least one type of plant causes sever allergic reactions, so be on your guard. Move out."

"Team East checking in." Young's radio crackled nearly an hour later, and he stopped. "Sir, we've found him."

"Colonel, over here!" Young jogged down the path, gun at the ready. "He's crawled into this burrow, but he won't come out."

"I think he might be in some kind of stupor, he doesn't seem to recognize us." Matt added, kneeling down by the hole and glancing inside. "I can't reach him to pull him out."

"Good for you. I managed to grab his leg and he kicked me with it." Greer grumbled, holding a bit of cloth to his bleeding nose. "I think he broke it."

Young winced in sympathy then lay down on his front, edging closer to the burrow. He could barely see the missing man, wedged all the way to the back of the burrow. "Rush! Rush, it's us. We came back for you. Rush!" The scientist didn't move from his curled up position. Young was almost certain his whole body was shaking. Shock, probably.

"Right." Young got up and scrubbed a hand through his hair. "I think it's safe to say he's not in his right mind at the moment." He grabbed his radio and switched it on. "TJ, we've found Rush. Grab a sedative and a Kino sled, we'll need them to transport him back. Our location is about a mile and a half east from the Gate."

"Roger that. On my way."

Young sighed and crouched down, looking back into the burrow. This was a nightmare.

"Okay, he's stopped kicking." Scott called from within the burrow, only his legs sticking out the entrance. "And he's kinda slumped over now."

"Grab a hold of him, we'll pull you both out." Young ordered.

"Alright." A pause. "Got 'im. Pull slowly, he may be wounded. I think I feel blood on his legs, it's too dark to tell for sure."

"Okay. On three." Young said. He and James grabbed one leg, Greer and Barnes grabbed the other. "One, two, three." They walked back steadily, pulling the two bodies outside slowly. They stopped only when both of them were out and visible.

Scott had been right about the blood. Rush's trousers were ripped, patches of bloodied skin visible through the material. His arms and torso were no better, even his face was cut up with what looked like claw marks. He looked like something tried to eat him. Like he had fought for his damn life, because they hadn't done a fucking head-count.

Fuck.

TJ immediately went to work, checking him for more injuries. Within minutes she had bandaged the worst bleeders and had them carefully lift Rush onto the Kino sled. "We need to get him back to the Destiny quick." she said, wrapping a blanket around him.

"It's that serious?" Young asked, gaze concerned.

"Not life-threatening, I'll need to stitch the deeper cuts. But if he wakes up in a panic he might hurt himself trying to get away."

"Shouldn't that sedative knock him out for a few hours?" Scott asked, wiping his bloodied hands against his pants.

"It doesn't work that well on him. He's immune to the full effects, and I can't give him a larger dose or it'll kill him." TJ explained as they started going back to the Gate. "We need to get him to the _Destiny_ before he wakes up, I can sedate him again in the infirmary."

"Can't you just give him that anaesthesia from his chest operation?" Young asked, jogging along.

"I did use it, we don't have any other sedative. And I repeat, Rush is immune – he woke up during the procedure."

"Ouch." Greer winced. "I can forgive him the nose, knowing that."

Young pursed his lips grimly. "Scott, wait up. I need one more thing, you can help me."

"Yes, sir."

"The rest of you go on. We'll be done in half an hour at most." The others continued on and Scott looked at him expectantly. "You and me, Lieutenant, are going to find a log."

Scott frowned, confused.

Rush woke slowly, his body numb and his limbs heavy. Opening his eyes was a struggle and moving his hands or legs seemed impossible. When he did manage to get his eyelids to lift a bit, he was almost immediately blinded by a white light. He scrunched up his face and tried to turn away, but even his skin felt heavy like lead and his mind felt too groggy to tell which way was up. He let the heaviness in his body to drag him back into unconsciousness

"Colonel? Rush woke up briefly, but he lost consciousness again. He's still too out of it from the sedatives."

"I'll be right there."

The second time Rush woke up, he still felt groggy and not all there, but at least he was somewhat conscious. He looked around blearily, blinking to get rid of the murky feeling from his eyes. It took a few moments, but eventually his vision cleared enough for him to recognize the infirmary on the Destiny. His body still felt heavy like lead, all four of his limbs were numb and his skin felt tight, as if something was just underneath, stretching it taut. He had felt almost the same after his impromptu chest procedure, so it was easy to assume the symptoms were a side-effect of the venom-sedative.

A hand, large and warm, was suddenly laid over his forehead and he flinched with a choked sound.

"Rush, can you hear me?" A familiar voice murmured as the hand gently tugged his head to the side. "Nick. Do you know where you are?"

Rush blinked several times and the face of the one speaking finally swam into focus. Young. He was leaning right over Rush, his thumb rubbing soothing circles against the scientist's temple. "Nick." Young repeated, voice low and calm. "Do you know where you are?"

Rush blinked once, twice and remembered. He remembered Chloe, he remembered the plant and he remembered the closed Gate.

He'd been left behind again.

Something tensed up in his chest and his eyes filled up with tears, spilling down his cheeks. "They left me." He hissed, feeling angry and betrayed. He had thought they were past that, that he was safe. Apparently, he'd been wrong. "You left me."

"We fucked up, I know." Young acknowledged, not removing his hand from Rush's forehead. "We fucked up big. But this time it was an accident. And I'm gonna make sure it never happens again."

"How?" Rush demanded, and Young moved back slightly. He grabbed something from the nearby chair and brought it back to Rush, tucking it into his numb hand. "I'll explain everything when you're not drugged up to the gills." He said, laying his hand back on Rush's forehead.

Rush managed to curl his fingers around the little object. It was flat and felt smooth and cool against his fingers, but not like metal. He frowned and stared up at Young, blinking blearily at him.

"Go back to sleep, Nick." Young said gently, wiping Rush's face with a corner of his blanket. "You should wake up more lucid next time."

Rush stared at him for a few moments more, fingers flexing against the something in his hand. He honestly wasn't even aware when his eyes slipped closed as he dozed off.

Young waited till everyone had assembled in the Gate room, then stepped onto the stairs. He looked around at the gathered crowd and cleared his throat pointedly. The murmur of voices quieted down, and he began.

"I assume you all know about what happened on our last excursion to a planet, but I'm gonna say it anyway. There had been some confusion about who came back when and Doctor Rush had been accidentally left behind. To make sure this can never happen again, I have made these." He nodded at Greer and Scott, and they brought the case forward. It was lined with little wooden plaques hanging on nails. "These are our new safety measure. Each of these plaques have been engraved with the rank and initials of everyone on board the _Destiny._ The place of each is similarly marked. From now on each and every time we venture off the _Destiny_, every member of the scouting party will take their plaque with them. Immediately upon return, _immediately_, everyone will hang their plaques back in their spots. If there is even one plaque missing, we are not leaving until we find the straggler. Is that understood?" There was a murmur of agreement from the crowd. "Every other time, be it in FTL or out of it, the plaques stay in the case. They can only be taken out for scouting missions. And that is an order." Another wave of consent, and Young nodded. "Good. One last thing, I've made each of these personally, from wood I've taken from that last planet. So make sure you don't lose your plaques – we don't have any more to make new ones. Dismissed."

Rush stared at the little wooden plaque, turning it around in his fingers. The workmanship was far from perfect, but the wood was polished to a near shine and the carved letters were easy enough to read.

N. RUSH

PhD, CSO

"Why CSO?"

"Chief Science Officer." Young explained, laying alongside Rush on the bed.

"Is that even a real acronym?"

"I'm fairly sure it was on Star Trek."

Rush looked at him, one eyebrow rising skeptically.

Young shrugged, unapologetic. "You're the Spock to my Kirk. At least now that we're no longer trying to kill one another."

Rush pursed his lips for a moment, then looked back at the plaque, thumb tracing over the letters. "I've never actually seen Star Trek, so I don't understand your reference."

"Huh." Young smirked at him. "Then the next time you piss me off, I'll just share that little titbit with Eli. I'm sure he'll do his best to summarize the entire thing to you."

It took some effort due to his injuries, but Rush managed to kick Young in the leg.

Young just laughed, the smug bastard.

END


End file.
